In no way would I classify myself as being a wealthy man, I have enough to live comfortably off of but I still have to be conscious of living within my means. This means that while I am travelling through The Philippines my accommodation is mostly restricted to the mid-tier hotels as I don’t fancy having to empty my bank account to pay for what might be an extended stay in a high-end hotel.
This allows me to stay somewhere reasonably nice. The rooms are clean, all the services you expect are available, and the common consumable products like tea, coffee and soap are supplied to you daily. Recently I stepped outside my usual string of “go to” hotels in Cebu and decided to try something a little more upmarket.
I was staying at my usual hotel in Cebu, a small hotel within walking distance of Fuente Circle. One evening I was browsing travel websites when I realised something was up with my booking. I had booked the next hotel I would move onto on the wrong date. Meaning that there was a period of a few days where I had nowhere to stay.
I instantly sprung into action and began browsing travel sites, looking for a place to stay for those few days.
Due to the late notice a lot of the popular places had no rooms available, then I noticed one of the high-end hotels in Cebu, Hotel Elizabeth was offering its rooms at a large discount. Without hesitation, I booked it, as you rarely get to experience a hotel of that calibre at such a low price.
Staying at Cebu Cities Hotel Elizabeth
The next day we arrived at the hotel, I immediately went into a mindset of comparing it to other hotels I frequently stay in.
The external presentation of the hotel trumped almost anything else I had seen in Cebu. On approach you know you will be staying somewhere nice, the hotel looks almost immaculate. I was impressed by the quality and attention shown by the presentation of the exterior of the building.
Once I was in the lobby, I unfortunately had the displeasure of having to line up at the check-in counter behind what seemed like an older entitled European man. This changed my mood quickly after having to listen to him shouting over to the porter to take his bags to the room. This made no sense to me as the porter was already in the middle of putting the man’s bags on a trolley to take to the room.
Seeing people treating service industry staff as if they are beneath them always puts me in a bad mood, but this quickly changed as the staff at Hotel Elizabeth were pleasant to deal with. Within minutes they had me checked in and had arranged someone to escort me with my bags to the room.
On arrival, I realised why this hotel is generally priced at about double the rate I would normally pay for a room. It felt more like a house than a hotel room, the bathroom alone was almost as big as the entire hotel room I usually stay in.
The room had everything you would need plus more. Several couches, a large desk to work from then another desk with a mirror and light for makeup, a large king sized bed, a mini bar with fridge and serving area etc.
It had everything you would need to feel at home while being away from home.
It felt amazing being in a hotel room of that size. Once you fill an average hotel room with the bed and desk there’s not much room left for anything else. After being in so many small hotel rooms I appreciated the feeling of not being confined to a little box. I loved the feeling of being in a large open space, it made the room feel a lot more fresh.
Overall my stay in the hotel was extremely positive. I will be watching travel websites like a hawk now, waiting for the prices at Hotel Elizabeth to drop into a range which I can afford. I have had a taste of the next level of hotel living, I’m am now keen to experience it again.
If you can afford the extra cash, I would not hesitate to book at Hotel Elizabeth. I think the comfort and convenience are worth the small financial sacrifice.